As this article points out, a lot of music was originally mixed in mono, and was meant to be heard that way.
Never mind early 60s music from the Beatles, everything released on 45, 78 and most albums from the 50s and earlier had a mono mix.
Micro broadcasting in mono makes a lot of sense. Range is greater for FM mono vs FM stereo, particularly at Part 15 and BETS legal levels, and virtually all available Part 15 AM transmitters are mono.
I can see, to some extent, the advantages of stereo for music that was specifically mixed for stereo, but stereo certainly shouldn't be taken as a given for good sound - my Rangemaster sounded just fine in mono, particularly with my mono programming, thank you very much.
Like Black 'n White vs. Color
Very solid article on a subject that broadcasters need to understand, and Artisan's comments show that he does.
Here at KDX we have committed to mono for two reasons which themselves are based on understanding the underlying differences between mono and stereo:
First off, we are mostly a talk station and the human voice is a mono instrument which gains nothing by stereo.
Our 2nd reason is that streaming in mono requires less internet bandwidth and makes room for more potential listeners.
Going on, in terms of recording and broadcasting stereo must be compatible with mono, since the stereo transmission systems mix an L+R signal for mono listeners which cancels itself out if the phasings between channels don't agree. In other words, a stereo signal must be reducible to mono or the quality goes out the window.
Also to add, with lots of articles to refer to, with FM especially, not sure about AM, but a mono signal will travel farther than a stereo one and ALL radios are significantly more sensitive with a mono signal....a big consideration with BETS-1 to get the most range you can. I use the Decade MS-100 mono model and also about 50% or more of my stuff is in mono anyway. If commercial stations switched to mono transmission their coverage would increase substantially. Frequency response is better in mono also(MS-100 spec sheet).
Here's a bit of info. on this also. The field strength as in BETS-1 for example is given with NO MODULATION because a carrier without audio has the most range. As soon as you add modulation with audio your transmission range is reduced.
The AM rules are written with no modulation also(correct me if I am wrong) for the same reason. 100mW DC into final.
As Artisan has said in the past if someone likes what you are playing and wants to hear it they will listen whether mono or stereo.
Transmitter Management
There are more Part 15 FM transmitters than BETS-1, which I think has only the Decade.
KDX has 4 different brands, and two of them are built with the stereo generator permanently ON, and simply broadcasting monophonic material doesn't solve the problem. These are the C.Crane and Scosche types. It would be delicate surgery to disable the stereo function in them because of the tiny surface mount technology and lacking proper instructions.
Both the EDM and Ramsey 35B allow selecting monaural mode.
As probably the biggest proponent of mono in this group, I see stereo, mostly as a gimmick. And I can, and have, ranted at length about this elsewhere on this forum.
Even well into the 60's most "hit" 45's were sold in mono. All "hits" were made hits by being heard by the masses on mono radios. Well into the 70's. By the mid 70's there were very few top 40 FM radio stations. A few. But not enough to count. 99% of 45's sold were listened to on mono record players, and except for a few esoteric stations, radio was listened to in mono.
We all grew up loving the hits in mono.
Then there's the classic rock crowd who insist on stereo. The purpose of course is solely to hear and enjoy the special stereo effects put into the music while mixing. Not while the music was being performed, and not at all what it sounded like live. A gimmick. For those that enjoy that sort of thing, more power to them. But don't try to tell me it's realistic sound.
Then there are those who claim stereo recreates the live performance more accurately. Well, maybe, it you're sitting in the one chair in the venue where the recording was made. Once you get a certain distance from a stage the source for all practical purposes becomes mono. Listen to many of the big stereo LP's of popular groups from the late 60's and 70's. Do you REALLY think the live performance had the guitarist at the far right of the stage, and the bass player on the far left, and the drum set was spread across the stage so one tom was in the right, the other on the left, while the bass was in the center and the snare was off to the right just a bit, etc. No. The drum set is a mono source unless you're standing right in front of it. To the drummer, it's a mono source.
Beatles albums were mixed in mono specifically to sound good on the radio, the stereo mixes were done later just to satisfy those who insisted on it. Any song released with the intention of getting radio play was mixed and eq'ed to sound good on mono car radios and portables.
One of the greatest sins is to take a mono record, "rechannel" and remix, to simulate stereo, then smash it back together for mono listening.
In fact, along this same line is to broadcast or listen in mono to a record mixed in stereo, rather than using the original mono source. All sorts of bad things happen that I won't go into for fear of writing a book. Flipping the switch to mono or "Y"ing the cables may create a mono sound, but it REALLY sounds horrid compared to a mono source, recorded and mixed mono.
Some of those Beatles stereo LP's are a real hoot (along with many others of the era -- Jan and Dean come to mind) where all the instruments are on the left, and the vocals are on the right. Turn your balance to the left and you have Karaoke music! And we KNOW that's how is sounded in real life, too because we all know the Beatles all stood on the right hand singing and playing, but their amps were all ov er on the left wide of the stage, right? LOL. Stupid.
I could go on for hours, but I won't, because it will detract from sales of the book I'll write ranting about the evils of stereo someday.
TIB
AMEN! to Timinbovey's post.
Thought I was the only one that saw this. That it's just a recording gimmic.
I've also mentioned this in past posts.
Tim, write that book.
By the way in my other post the point I was making about rules written with no modulation is the less info and bandwidth you transmit the father the signal goes.
A mono signal doesn't use up as much bandwidth needed for the two channels in the same space so the transmitted audio is "denser" for lack of a better word....like a flashlight with an adjustable beam. Whether the light is spread out or concentrated in a central beam, the field strength or amount of light is the same but the focused central beam of light will go much farther than if unfocused wider beam, as in stereo broadcast.
Two Monaural Channels on One Carrier
We did a Low Power Hour "2-Pack" in which two different shows were packaged in a single stereo audiofile, one show on the left channel the other on the right.
It was the best use ever made for the Balance Control on the stereo amplifier.
Oh my God what a nightmare for an album rocker where do I begin?
I have went to many concerts whereas the instruments on stage was separated and in the front row I can hear the difference in other words the placement of the instruments.
I seen Cheap Trick at the Lansing civic center in Lansing Michigan I've also seen the Steve Miller Band at the Michigan Festival I saw Journey Foreigner REO Speedwagon and a host of other great album Rock bands. I can honestly say that unless you have nosebleed seats yes you might not hear the stereo effect because in the arena all you'll hear is Echo when you're sitting back too far.
There is another reason that stereo is extremely important to certain genres such as album-oriented rock. The reasoning is to try to simulate a high or a Euphoria type affect similar to a marijuana Buzz or to help in heighten your Buzz by imposing certain audio frequencies that will affect your brain even when you're not high.. For example traffic`s song Heaven is in your mind or Pink Floyd Astronomy Demine. The notion that we don't need stereo is exactly why I am so against the rap and Top40 crowd because they simply cannot hear and because of that reasoning they make it hard for us Album Rockers to obtain decent stereo equipment.
I posted on the ALPB about my show I was doing today called the ultimate c-quam stereo experience and also mentioned that it will help those on the internet who might have difficulty with their hearing in other words they can't detect the placement of right left or slightly right or slightly left. I played songs that was detrimental if it was played in mono. I played all the songs that had super Wide Stereo separation effects. I started out with Fever Tree a little bit of Tee-set and The Mamas & Papas California Dreamin just to get things started to make sure that you could hear the separation.
Then I veered into the songs that would give you a euphoric effect if you can hear them in stereo one of which was Pink Floyd Astronomy Demine and even played some stuff from bloodwynd Pig and the pretty things.
The show was a success lots of people enjoyed the show because of the fact that I had an 8-hour show of nothing but super wide stereo songs. I don't think a radio station has done that in years. It was sure a treat listening to these awesome Wide Stereo effect songs.
Mono is okay for some things that don't have or try to emulate an euphoric type of affect but for us that really enjoy it it's nice to sit back and just let your mind go. And with that stereo effect it is really Spacey and really calms the nerves.
My broadcast engineer friend who came to fix my transmitter today and I had a great time all day long after things got running. He is one of the folks that definitely enjoyed the type of stuff I played as we rode along Deltaville checking the signal. When you were in good range of c-quam you could definitely tell and it was a treat. He had told me no one at play that stuff in years and he really enjoyed it. He even told me that if AM is ever allowed for hobby broadcasters at 10 watts or more than what it is now he would be more than glad to help with the power increase. He's all for it and might even help me construct a petition for it because he already knows AM radio is a dying band.
I don't know when I'll do another Super Wide Stereo effects show but maybe I should do like a 48-hour nothing but songs that have really wide separation that way people could listen to it all weekend long if their radios are compatible and if they want to test or here what seaquam sounds like well I'll be more than happy to give them a demonstration. I already have a few listeners that are talking about putting their old Clarion C quam radio in their car so that when their spouse go shopping they can listen to me in stereo. That's how much they enjoyed the show and appreciated what it was all about.
The Arbiter
Tim is right that stereo is a gimmick but that's not bad. Inventions are all gimmicks, and human beings drive around in gimmicks.
The title of this thread is the problem: "Mono vs Stereo", which makes it a competition.
It's not a competition, it's a choice.
I have even thought that a full power station could capitalize on both idioms by broadcasting all announcements and conversations in mono for best range, and switch to stereo for special events like concerts and sports. In that way a station could build the drama by making stereo something special, like the way NBC Television once said: "The following program on NBC comes to you in Living Color".
For the low power radio station stereo is a choice and if it floats the boat let's start floating!